"Tron: Legacy" made its world premiere in Tokyo, which is appropriate, considering that the lightcycles in the original movie inspired Kaneda's motorcycle in "Akira." In Kosinski's film, there's talk of a "digital frontier," and both it and its predecessor certainly blazed a trail in other ways, too. "Tron" was one of the first CGI-heavy movies, and "Tron: Legacy" also featured a digitally de-aged Bridges years before that sort of thing really took off in Hollywood.
Sure, the effects are rough in places; Bridges' CLU ("Codified Likeness Utility") looks like he rode in on a lightcycle from the uncanny valley. But if Kosinski had been able to make "Tron: Ascension" post-2015, maybe the technology would have caught up with his ambitions. If you remember, "Tron: Legacy" ended with Wilde's "isomorphic algorithm," Quorra, entering the real world, and Kosinski's idea for "Tron: Ascension" would have continued with that concept of bringing digital characters into physical reality. Cillian Murphy also cameoed in "Tron: Legacy," and had a sequel been made, his character would have played a more prominent part as well.
As it is, we're left with ever-present rumblings of a Jared Leto-led sequel, "Tron: Ares." For his part, Kosinski seems stoic about the cancellation of "Tron: Ascension." He told Vulture:
"Had I made 'Tron: Ascension,' I wouldn't have made 'Only the Brave,' and I wouldn't have made the movies I made. But remember, the first 'Tron' was not a hit when it came out. It's a cult classic. And if 'Tron: Legacy's' becoming the same thing, I couldn't be more thrilled."
"Tron" and "Tron: Legacy" are both streaming on Disney+.